No amnesty, only war: Kremlin leaves Russians a single choice
Photo: in Russia, war is left as the only alternative to prison (Getty Images)
The Kremlin has shut the door on amnesty, leaving Russians with only one alternative to prison: going to war. In a single day, Russia’s State Duma rejected eight amnesty initiatives, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
According to intelligence data, Russian authorities continue to use prisoners as expendable resources in the war against Ukraine. Last week, the Russian State Duma rejected eight amnesty bills in a single vote. The initiatives had been submitted between 2020 and 2025.
Among those rejected was a so-called broad amnesty that would have applied to veterans, women with children, people with disabilities, protesters, and those convicted for cooperating with “undesirable” foreign NGOs.
The proposals did not concern particularly dangerous criminals, yet lawmakers still voted against them.
Amnesty was also denied to journalists, government critics, women, and widows of participants in the so-called “special military operation,” as well as entrepreneurs.
Russia’s last large-scale amnesty took place in 2015. A ten-year gap is unprecedented in the entire history of Russia’s constitution.
In an explanatory note, the relevant State Duma committee claimed that amnesty had allegedly “lost its relevance” due to the “humanization” of criminal legislation.
In reality, this refers to selective releases of mobilized soldiers and contract servicemen, as well as limited concessions for pregnant women and mothers of children under 14.
"Cannon fodder" in the war against Ukraine
From the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has deployed prisoners and poorly trained contract soldiers in frontal assaults to wear down Ukraine’s defenses.
Russia is also actively recruiting labor migrants from Central Asia to fight against Ukraine, most of whom are killed at the front. According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, citizens of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and other countries in the region are increasingly becoming victims of forced mobilization by Russian security services.
In addition, Russia is carrying out mass forced mobilization in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which increasingly resembles the deliberate “liquidation” of the local population.
Ukraine has also reported on the involvement of North Korean soldiers in the war against Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region.
